Samhucus.] XXXIX. CAPKIFOLIACE^J. 207 



with a border of 5 small teeth. Corolla with a very short tube, and 5 

 spreading divisions, so as to appear rotate. Stamens 5, inserted at the 

 base of the corolla. Stigma sessile, 3- to 5-lobed. Fruit a berry, or, 

 strictly speaking, a berry-like drupe, with 8, rarely 4, seed-like stones, 

 each containing a single seed. 



The genus consists of but few species, spread over Europe, temperate 

 Asia, North America, and Australia, and is the only one in the family 

 with pinnate leaves. 



Tree. Leaflets ovate, without stipular lobes 1. S. nigra. 



Herb. Leaflets lanceolate, the lowest short, broad, and close to the 



stem, representing stipules 2. S. Ebulus. 



The S. racemosa, or red-berried Elder, common in our shrubberies, is a 

 native of the mountains of continental Europe. 



1. S. nigra, Linn. (fig. 462). Common E. — A small tree, or shrub, 

 with the stem and branches full of pith. Leaf-segments 5 to 7, ovate, 

 pointed, 2 to 3 inches long, regularly and sharply toothed, and nearly 

 glabrous. Corymbs, 5 or 6 inches broad, several times branched, the 

 first time into 4 or 5, but the branches less numerous at each subsequent 

 division. The bracts very minute. Flowers white or cream coloured. 

 Fruits black. 



In woods, coppices, and waste places, common in central and southern 

 Europe to the Caucasus, and extending itself readily from cultivation 

 further northward. Appears to be truly indigenous in England and 

 Ireland, but only introduced into Scotland. Fl. summer, rather early. 

 A garden variety has deeply and finely-cut segments to the leaves. 



2. S. Ebulus, Linn. (fig. 463). Dwarf E., Banewort. — Stock short and 

 perennial, with annual, erect stems, thick and pithy, slightly branched, 

 2 to 3 feet high. Leaf -segments 7 to 11, lanceolate, 2 to 4 inches long, 

 with a small one on each side of the leafstalk, on the stem itself, look- 

 ing like stipules. Corymbs less regular, and rather smaller than in 

 S. nigra, with only 3 primary branches. Flowers sweet-scented, of a 

 pure white, or tinted with purple on the outside. Fruits black. 



On roadsides, in rubbishy wastes, and stony places, in central and 

 southern Europe, and west-central Asia, extending northward to southern 

 Sweden. Occurs in many parts of Britain, and may be indigenous in 

 some, although believed to have been everywhere introduced by the 

 Danes. Fl. summer, later than the common E. 



III. VIBURNUM. VIBUKNUM. 



Shrubs or small trees, with undivided or palmately-lobed leaves, and 

 whitish flowers in terminal cymes. Calyx with a border of 5 small 

 teeth. Corolla with a short campanulate tube (in some exotic species 

 much longer) and 5 spreading divisions. Stamens 5, inserted near the 

 base of the corolla. Stigmas sessile 3 or 2, or on very short styles. 

 Ovary 3- or 2-celled in a very young stage, but at the time of flowering 

 1-celled, with a single ovule. Fruit a 1-seeded berry. 



A rather large and widely-spread genus, extending further into the 

 tropical regions of both the New and the Old World than any other of 

 the family. The flowers, at first sight very much like those of Sambucus, 

 have yet a more distinct tube, and the foliage is very different. 



